A short trip across the Bay Bridge lands you in a group of communities that are diverse, energetic and brimming with opportunities.
A short trip across the Bay Bridge lands you in a group of communities that are diverse, energetic and brimming with opportunities.
Richmond
Richmond, located on San Pablo Bay is interesting, diverse, changing every day and has very distinct neighborhoods. It is also, the second-most populous city in the county, with over 100,000 residents. Look for a home on the south side and enjoy views of the Bay and the Golden Gate. Then drop into neighboring Berkeley for some fabulous dining and shopping.
Right now, the schools here are middle in test scores but recently bonds totaling almost a half billion dollars have passed to renovate just about every school in the district. Look for some big changes in Richmond!
Although this town has always hovered between Walnut Creek and Concord, its now lending itself in style and charm more towards Walnut Creek.
Lafayette started as a farming community but after 1950 evolved into a suburban town. It is now one of the most prestigious towns in Contra Costa, or in the Bay Area in general.
Although homes and apartments are still going up, Concord’s boom days are over. The city is turning its energies to its downtown and filling in its empty space. These days, every home is expensive but Concord offers more variety in housing choices and lower prices than other Central County cities.
Walnut Creek epitomizes the culture and promise of the suburbs. Compared to other California schools, academic rankings and high, some very high. Crime is on the very low. And culture is on the up and up. Oh yes, and they have wonderful housing too!
The typical Danville home is not a mansion, (though we can find you one), but a tract home, one or two stories, 3-5 bedrooms. Nonetheless the town is considered upper-middle professional and even prestigious. Could it be because the school scores are very high, crime rate very low and downtown charming and sweet?
Home prices here have soared in the past 10 years but it is definitely a hot spot for newlyweds looking to start a family.
Mt. Diablo State park is 18,000 acres of trails, views, caves and camping. Just be on the lookout for the occasional mountain lion.
Berkeley is a famous city, the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement (which celebrated its 40 th anniversary in 2004) and People's Park. It's an intellectual city that cherishes education and activism above all else – except maybe good food. It's a neighborly city, with distinct communities ranging from students and young professionals in old Victorians, bungalows and apartment buildings near the campus, to the old guard in the hills in their spectacular stone houses with “three bridge” views (Golden Gate, Oakland Bay, and San Rafael). And finally, it's an incredibly scenic city, with beautiful architecture by Maybeck and Morgan, and a Mediterranean climate that keeps those paths and trees and flowers sunny and green almost all year long.
Piedmont High School's annual Bird Calling Contest winners get to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman.
Piedmont schools are some of the very best in the country with national scores in the top 30 percent.
Piedmont's crime rate is one of the lowest in the Bay Area.
Piedmont is ideally situated in the heart of the East Bay .
Piedmont is surrounded by a beautiful forest at the foot of the Oakland Hills.
Piedmont's real estate listings offer an abundance of gorgeous, stately 3- and 4-bedroom homes.
Piedmont Park has a panoramic view of San Francisco and Mt. Tamalpais.
Piedmont Avenue (not technically in Piedmont, but close enough) offers the Piedmont Cinema, Peet's Coffee, Fenton's Creamery, and dozens of other popular attractions.
Piedmont Community Church, an interdenominational and open-minded church, has nearly 1,000 members.
So if you're smart – and you're searching for a home in an established community like Rockridge, with big oak trees and little corner stores, or in an up-and-coming urban space near City Center . . . and you'd like to spend an afternoon at sunny Lake Merritt, or an evening with the Oakland Symphony . . . and you enjoy Japanese food and jazz at Yoshi's, or hiphop and BBQ ribs at Everett & Jones . . . and you're an Oakland A's fan, or a member of the Raider Nation ... and you're into art at the Oakland Museum, or science at Chabot Space & Science Center, or family fun at the Children's Fairyland or the Oakland Zoo ... then Oakland is most definitely for you.